We're Not Meant To Be
by eltmiss
Summary: Five year after the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy is pressured into transferring into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Little does he know that he will be working with Hermonie Granger, who turns his world upside down as he falls for her. But will this romance work out? Only time will tell...
1. Chapter 1

This is set 5 years after the war.

When Draco Malfoy entered the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures on a rainy day, he was not looking forward to it. He had been working in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes for the last four years, and had been pressured into moving departments because of a "shortage of employees". He didn't really care about magical creatures – he realized the importance of the department, of course – but he didn't want to work there.

He entered the department with a boxful of things from his last desk, and was suddenly assaulted by the amount of sights, smells, and sounds that were coming at him. In one corner, a wizard was busily talking to someone and pointing to a box that kept making squealing sounds and then exploding. The people in the offices kept yelling at each other across the room, making everything very loud. Papers were littered on everyone's desk, and every now and then someone would run across the room doing one thing or another. Draco stood there for a moment, taking everything in, when one of the wizards that was standing noticed him and ran over. He shook Draco's hand.

"Hello Draco, my name is Stan Bullfred, and I'm the head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I'm so glad you're joining us," he said with a smile. Stan was an older man, probably in his 50's, Draco thought. He was about 5'5" and balding. However, he stood tall and was very friendly. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to your desk, and then you'll be meeting with the young lady that I want you working with for the next few weeks."

Draco followed him as he went down a hallway, wondering who this witch might be. Looking around, Draco definitely felt like he stepped down in departments. The witches and wizards in this department didn't seem to care much about appearances – the robes most wore to work looked shabby and not very well taken care of. They looked disheveled, like they had woken up late to work. Draco, on the other hand, wore his best robes to work today and had immaculately combed his hair back.

"Ok, we're here!" said Stan with a smile, gesturing to a desk that was shoved in a small corner cubicle. _Goodness,_ Draco thought looking at it. It was smaller than his old desk, and that had been the smallest desk in the department! He sighed. This was not going to be a fun transition.

"Well, put your things on your desk, you can get settled in later. I really want to introduce you to your new partner; she's your age and has been working on some legislation for elf rights that I really would like you to take a look at. I know you have some background in magical law, and I think you would really be able to help her out!" With that, Stan looked at Draco enthusiastically. Draco weakly returned the smile, but inside his mind was whirring. Elf rights… a woman… his age…he secretly hoped he wasn't right about who this might be. As they went around another corner, Stan opened another door which led into a well-lit conference room. At the table was a slender woman with curly hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was bent over some paperwork, so Draco couldn't get a good look at her face at first. Stan coughed, and she immediately looked up. Brown eyes met grey, and he immediately knew who it was. Hermonie Granger. She had matured in the five years since he had last seen her. She was dressed in very professional dress robes and her once frizzy hair was now tamed into soft curls. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but some curls had escaped and were framing her face. _Beautiful_, he thought, and then shook himself. This was Hermonie Granger. He can't be attracted to Hermonie Granger.

"Draco, this is Hermonie Granger. She has been working on some really exciting legislation for elf rights that I want you to help her with. Hermonie, Draco has some background in magical law and I think that he could really enhance your bill." Stan looked between the two of them, and then they both nodded and Draco went to sit down. Draco was still in shock that he would be working with Hermonie Granger.

"Ok, well, I'll leave you two to it. Hermonie, I'll check with you in a couple days." And with that, Stan left, leaving them alone.

"Hello Malfoy," Hermonie said, and there was no trace of anger in her voice. She was merely greeting him, although it was very distant and polite.

"Hello Hermonie." She looked momentarily taken aback at the use of her first name, but then collected herself and proceeded to launch into a speech about her vision for elf rights and what she was trying to get accomplished with this legislation. Draco had to admit, she knew what she was doing. She had already gotten tremendous work done, with her bill already passing through two phases of law making already. There were only two more to go, and those were the hardest to get through in order to get your bill passed. After she explained everything, he took a look at the legislation and they sat together and went over ways to improve it so that it was more able to pass.

Three hours later, Draco looked up at the clock and was startled that the time had passed so fast. He had to admit, working with Hermonie wasn't too bad. She was very intelligent, but she didn't act smug about it. She just wanted to get work done. When he pointed out the time to her, she looked shocked and started stacking paper. She insisted that he go eat some lunch and settle in his desk, and then they could meet again at the end of the day.

Leaving the room, he had to wonder how he had never gotten to know her before. _Oh that's right_, he thought, _because I was obsessed with blood status_. Well, the war had changed that. He saw many muggle-borns acting much braver than he ever could be, and saw his father crumble right in front of him. He hadn't spoken that dirty word, _mudblood_, in five years. He made it his vow to get to know Hermonie, because she seemed worth getting to know.


	2. Chapter 2

When Hermonie apparated into her flat that night, she was exhausted. She dropped her purse on the floor and then dropped onto her couch. She laid facedown, her face smushed into the soft fabric, thinking about her day. When her boss had told her earlier that week that she would be working with Draco Malfoy, she had dreaded it. The memories of him taunting her, calling her mudblood, watching as she was tortured by Bellatrix… they had come to the surface and made her extremely nervous.

But then he had walked in, and had called her Hermonie. Not Granger or mudblood, and he did it without sneering at her or using any malice in his voice. And then they worked together for three hours straight. He was focused and had some really great contributions to add, even though Hermonie was pretty sure that he was never a supporter of elf rights.

His attitude had just surprised her. She had expected him to give her attitude, to refuse to put in any real effort, anything but what had happened today. Instead, he had given her respect and acted very professional. He was… changed. He didn't hold his head up the way he used to, like he thought he was better than everyone else. He looked her in the eye. Hermonie wondered why. Lucius and Narcissa hadn't become muggle supporters after the war. In fact, as far as Hermonie knew, they were still obsessed about blood status. In fact, Lucius was still at a low level position in the Ministry because of his actions during the war. So Draco behaving the way he did just didn't make sense to her.

Hermonie made it a vow to figure out why he had changed. She didn't trust him, not yet. She needed to find out if this was just an act or if he had genuinely changed. Until then, she would be on her toes, looking for any signs of trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed since Draco had started working with Hermonie, and she was still just as distant and polite as she was the first day. He understood. After years of bullying, he probably wouldn't trust himself either. They were working on separate pieces of legislation right now, and Draco looked at Hermonie. Her hair was down today, and curls kept falling in her face. Even though her hair wasn't frizzy anymore, it still seemed just as untamed as it has always been. He studied her features. He had never noticed how long her eyelashes were. They framed her eyes nicely. After a minute of Draco looking at her, Hermonie finally looked up. She looked confused for a second.

"Do you need something Draco?" She asked, her eyebrows knitted together.

"No, sorry.. um.. I was just wondering how you wanted to word this sentence to make it more appealing to the committee." He picked out the sentence he had just been looking at, and when Hermonie took a look at it, she looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"It looks fine just the way it is." And with that she went back to her work.

_Smooth Draco_, he thought. That was the worst excuse he had ever given anybody. Still, he wanted to get her attention. He wanted her to start talking to him.

"So Hermonie." She looked up at him. "How's your family?" She once again gave him a confused look.

"They're fine. I don't see them that often. They moved to the country, and I don't get a lot of time off work."

"Oh, so where are you living?" Draco asked, genuinely curious. Hermonie gave him a mischievous smile.

"Not so fast Draco. If you're going to ask me questions, I get to ask questions back." He got nervous, but nodded his head.

"Ok, shoot."

"How's your family?" Draco knew she was going to ask that question, even though she knew it was a loaded question.

"They're doing alright. I visit them a lot. They're still my parents. I love them." She nodded, but didn't ask any more questions about his family. He was glad – his parents were known Death Eaters and supporters of the Dark Lord. His dad went to Azkaban for two years, but was let off early because of his lack of support during the end of the war. His mom was known to have saved Harry Potter – he testified at her trial – and was saved from Azkaban. Draco, while being a Death Eater, was let off because the Ministry believed he was being influenced by those around him and would not have joined the Dark Lord willingly. He shook off his thoughts and asked Hermonie another question.

"So how is Weas- Ron?" Even though he didn't care about blood status, Ron still annoyed him to no end. He had a hard time respecting him. "Last I knew you two were together." At that, Hermonie looked down at the table.

"No, we broke up a couple years ago. Actually, he's dating Lavender Brown again. They just got engaged." She looked upset at the thought. "She's asked me to be a bridesmaid."

"Really? Even though she's dating your ex?" Draco was amazed that someone could be that dense.

"Well, to them we're just friends now." Draco could hear the hurt in her voice as she revealed that information.

"How often do you see them? It must be pretty regularly, if she's asked you to be a bridesmaid," Draco observed.

"Molly has Sunday dinner every week, and the whole family is invited. Since Harry and I have been best friends with Ron since first year, we are considered family too. So, to answer your question, every week." Draco's eyebrows shot up. She hung around Weasel and his fiancé every week? No wonder she looked upset. _I would be upset too if I had to watch my ex moon over someone else every week and pretend to be okay with it, _Draco thought, shocked at the situation that Hermonie was putting herself in.

"Why don't you stop going?"

Hermonie sighed. "It's not that easy Draco. That would be rude to Molly and the whole Weasley family. They've done a lot for me, and I wouldn't want to suddenly just stop going to their house just because of Ron."

Draco was getting heated over this. He didn't really know why. Sure, he wanted to get to know Hermonie, but why was he suddenly getting so over protective all of a sudden? _It's because Ron is a twit, and she deserves better_, he told himself. It was totally normal, he told himself. Slowly, he counted to five and asked her, "Do you ever bring anyone to these dinners?"

Hermonie looked taken aback at this question. "No, because it'd be kind of serious to introduce a boyfriend to the Weasleys. Besides, I haven't really had one… I spend a lot of time working." She mumbled the last part, like she was ashamed to tell him.

"Well, maybe you should. If he's going to bring a girl around you, it's only fair that you bring a guy around him. Why should you be completely miserable?"

At that, Hermonie looked annoyed. "I never said I'm completely miserable. And I'm doing fine for myself, thanks. Now, let's get back to work." And with that, she put her head down and started scribbling away on the paper she was working on with her quill.

Hermonie joined Harry for a drink after work at the Leaky Cauldron. When she arrived, he was already sitting at the bar drinking what looked like a muggle beer. Hermonie walked over to him and threw her purse down on the counter with unnecessary force. Harry looked taken aback at this.

"Hey 'Mione, you okay?" He asked uncertainly.

"Ya, I guess." She looked at Tom. "I'll have scotch on the rocks." Now Harry really looked shocked.

"You never order hard liquor, unless something is bothering you. The last time I saw you drinking hard liquor was when you and Ron broke up. What's wrong?"

Hermonie sighed. "Malfoy was getting on my nerves today. He started asking about Ron – which is understandable, last he knew we were dating – but then he started giving me advice on Ron and I's relationship and he just… made me feel terrible." Her drink had arrived while she had been talking, and she immediately took a big swig.

Harry looked concerned. "Terrible? How? What did he say?"

Hermonie furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the floor. "He told me that I should start bringing a date to the Weasley family dinners because Ron brings Lavender. Harry, he told me that I shouldn't be 'completely miserable'! He barely even knows me! How can he know how I feel when it comes to Lavender and Ron?" She looked close to tears, so Harry brought her in close and gave her a big hug.

"Hermonie, I know that it was out of line for him to say. He shouldn't be giving you advice on your personal life while at work. But," Harry sighed, "When Ron brings Lavender around, you do get pretty down."

Hermonie took another swig of her drink and looked resigned. "I know. I feel pathetic."

Harry looked taken aback. "You are not pathetic! Never! If Ginny had started dating someone else, I wouldn't be happy. I'd be mopey and upset every time I saw them together. It's okay Hermonie! You know what you need to do?" Hermonie looked at him with glistening eyes. "You need to start dating again. When was the last time you were out on a date?"

Hermonie looked thoughtful. "Umm… like a year and a half ago?"

"Exactly. You're a beautiful woman, and you deserve someone who will adore you. Go out on a date, please, and find that someone. I love Ron, he's my best friend, but you deserve better than what he gave you. Okay?" Harry looked at Hermonie, who quickly sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Okay Harry. You're right. I should. I love you, you know that?" She smiled at him and gave him a hug.

"Love you too, 'Mione. Now, enough with the hard liquor. Get a glass of wine instead. I know you love that one brand… um… Bermouth! Get that, and I'll tell you about how terribly embarrassed I was when a little girl basically assaulted me the one day…"

Harry went into a story about having a girl jump on top of him wanting his autograph. Despite the war being over for five years, he was still impossibly famous. Hermonie and Ron had gotten their fifteen minutes of fame after the Battle of Hogwarts for their role in helping Harry, but luckily that had not lasted long. Hermonie didn't know how Harry could stand it.

They spent the next couple of hours catching up and getting tipsy. Harry insisted on walking Hermonie back to her apartment, as it was dangerous for any witch or wizard to apparate with alcohol in their system. When they arrived there, Harry was about to floo when he turned back to Hermonie.

"Hey 'Mione?" She looked curiously at Harry. "I know that Malfoy made you face your feelings about Ron and he stepped over some lines, but you should really give him a chance. He did save our lives. I don't think he's the arrogant toerag he was in school. It's possible he was genuinely trying to help. Just think about that, okay?"

She nodded, and Harry turned and flooed back to the flat he shared with Ron. Hermonie sat down and thought about what he just said. Maybe he did change. Hermonie decided to give him a chance and try to get to know him.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione found it was harder to get to know Draco than she thought. Because of their hostility to each other years prior, it was hard to start conversations without drifting into dangerous territory.

One day she had been joking around with him, and had called him a "twitchy little ferret", thinking he'd find it funny in hindsight. He looked away and didn't meet her eyes the rest of the day.

Another time Hermione found out that someone in their department had broken their wand and misfired a spell at themselves. She shared with this Draco, talking about when Ron did that, and then she remembered that was the first time he had ever called her mudblood. He seemed to have remembered it too, because they avoided each other for hours.

Finally, Hermione had enough. The awkward tension that constantly drifted over them was getting ridiculous, and she knew that it wouldn't stop unless they were up front with each other. So finally, in the middle of working through the last phase of legislation for their bill, she spoke up.

"Draco?"

He looked up from his paperwork, calming setting his quill down and looking at her. "Hermione?"

Chewing her lip, she spoke. "I was thinking, about us and our working situation. I know that in the past, things have been… tense. And we weren't exactly on the best terms. But I would really like to put that all behind us and start new. Become friends, maybe."

Draco was silent for a minute before he carefully spoke. "I know exactly what you mean Hermione. I was thinking the exact same thing. And I like the idea of friends. That sounds good," he said, smiling at the end. It was a genuine smile, and Hermione couldn't help but smile back at him.

Weeks had passed, and Draco and Hermione's friendship was going good. They found out that they had a lot more in common than they thought they did, like the fact that they both loved classic English literature. Draco admitted that after the war he was bored with his reading selection, and had wandered into a muggle library. Upon discovering the classic literature, he fell in love. He then purchased many volumes, which he read numerous times in his downtown London flat.

They also were very determined and intelligent, which made them a very good team. Within two months of working together, Hermione's bill for elf rights was passed. The law required all elf owners to offer clothing to their elf, and allow them to choose freedom or not (Draco had shown to Hermione that not all elves wanted to be free, and amended that part of the law). If freed, elves were to get a minimum of a Galleon a month and a day off a month. Hermione had wanted more, but Draco had once again pointed out that elves saw that as generous, and if people were forced to pay more, the elves might not want that.

As soon as he heard the news of their bill being passed, Draco immediately rushed down to Hermione's office to congratulate her. Not bothering to knock, he busted in the door. Hermione looked up from her work, looking surprised and flustered.

"D-Draco, what are you doing here? Why didn't you knock?"

"Hermione, our bill passed! You did it!" He was so excited that it all came out very loud and fast.

She looked shocked for a moment, and then joyful. She rushed over to Draco and engulfed him in a big hug. "Oh my goodness, that is so exciting! Wait until everyone finds out!"

Draco, in his excitement, responded with picking Hermione up and twirling her around her office. He put her down on her feet, but her arms remained wrapped around his neck, and they looked into each other's eyes for a few moments before Hermione broke the eye contact. She looked down and blushed and mumbled something about it really being exciting.

Draco summoned up all his courage and said, "Hermione, would you like to go out for celebratory drinks?"

She looked at him in the eye for a moment, and answered with a mischievous smirk, "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours later at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione was on her third glass of wine, and Draco was on his third firewhiskey. She was getting pretty tipsy, and it was obvious.

Giggling, she put her hand on Draco's shoulder. "Draco, do you remember that time I accidentally turned your tie Gryffindor colors?" She couldn't help but collapse into laughter.

"That was really funny. But I have to admit, you did look good in it. Maybe you were meant to be in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin." And with that, she laughed so hard she doubled over and gasped for air. Draco just rolled his eyes and smiled. She had been looking over legislation that day and had been idly twirling her wand in her hand. All of a sudden there was a bang, and abruptly his normally green tie was striped scarlet and gold. She had gasped and apologized, but Draco just waved away her apologies and changed his tie back. But the memory of the incident made him smile.

"Oh, so you think I look good in Gryffindor colors, huh? You obviously forgot what I looked like at Hogwarts in my Slytherin robes," he said, winking at her. She blushed a deep crimson, and looked at her feet. She then mumbled something that Draco could barely make out, although it sounded like "I remember".

He wouldn't admit it, but Draco loved seeing her blush. She was the opposite of most women he surrounded himself with – proud pure-blood women that looked down their nose at just about everyone. Hermione treated everyone as her equal, and didn't care if her hair was out of place or if she snorted when she laughed. Her blush reminded him of that.

He took two fingers and lifted her chin up, looking into her eyes. This woman was amazing, and now that their legislation was passed, they wouldn't get to work together every day. The thought made him really sad, something that surprised him. Since when did a Malfoy get so attached? It was then that he noticed how drunk she was.

"Hermione, I think you need something to eat. Drinking rule number one: don't drink on an empty stomach. When was the last time you ate?" he asked, looking at her with probing eyes.

"Um… noon," she murmured, avoiding his eyes.

"Well, then let's eat. Be right back," he said, and then walked to the bar before she could object. He came back in a few minutes with two platters heaped with food. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes.

"I can't eat all this!" she said, hiccupping.

He just smiled and shook his head. "Eat, Hermione," he insisted, helping himself to some sausage.

They were happily eating and making conversation about people at work when they heard someone clear their throat. They both whipped their heads around to see Harry Potter standing at their table, looking thoroughly confused.

"Hey Hermione... Ginny and I came in for a drink and I saw you. I thought I'd say hi, but I can see you're busy. If you want to talk, we're sitting over there." He pointed to the bar, where Ginny sat with a glass in her hand, looking at her husband with a similar look. With an uncomfortable wave, he turned around and walked away.

"Potter, you're more than welcome to join us. You and your wife," Draco said smoothly, surprising Harry and Hermione. She looked at him shocked while Harry just shrugged.

"Ok, I'll go get her then." After he walked away, Draco looked at Hermione and laughed at the shocked expression on her face.

"What, I can't invite your friend over for a drink?" he said, taking a handful of chips and leaning back in his chair.

Hermione sputtered, "Yes, you can. I just wasn't expecting it."

Draco shrugged. "Potter's not a bad guy. I run into him from time to time in the ministry, and he's one of the few people that treats me quite pleasantly." Hermione could hear the bitter edge in his voice, and thought about how many times she'd seen people mutter to each other when he walked by. The thought made her unhappy.

The scraping of chairs interrupted her thoughts. Harry and Ginny had come over to sit with them, and had brought a pint of butterbeer with them.

"Good to see you Hermione, didn't expect to see you here!" Ginny exclaimed, giving Hermione a wink and a look that told her that they would talk later. Hermione internally cringed, Ginny was probably going to grill her about why she was out with Malfoy. She probably thought that they were dating. Surprising, the thought sent a thrill through her. She shook herself. Since when did she get excited at the thought of dating Malfoy? It's probably just the alcohol, she thought to herself. She was glad that he made her eat – her head was spinning less and it sobered her up quite a bit.

"Hermione?" Ginny shook her out of her reverie.

"S-sorry, I was just thinking about other things. How are you doing, Ginny?" Ginny just gave her another look and proceeded to talk about how James was finally starting to walk and how he got into everything. As she talked, Hermione relaxed, continuing to munch on the snacks Draco had brought. It was good to be around Ginny, she hardly ever saw the witch anymore. Even at the Sunday dinners, Ginny was busy watching James and catching up with her sister in laws.

The whole group looked quite relaxed, with Harry and Draco chatting about what sounded like talk about a new experimental breed the Ministry was working on. It was wonderful to see everyone getting along. If this had been five years ago, things would have been very different. Draco and Harry wouldn't have even looked each other in the eye without disdain, and Harry and Ginny would have never accepted a friendship like this.

After about another hour of talking and laughing, the foursome parted ways.

"Hermione, you need to come over for dinner this week. Ginny and I miss hanging out with you!" Harry was practically pleading.

"Alright Harry, I'll floo you and make plans. Don't worry, I miss you too!" She gave the raven haired man a tight hug, and then gave his red-headed wife a hug too. "Say hi to James for me!"


	6. Chapter 6

The Potters went one direction while Hermione and Draco went another. Hermione could feel herself swaying as she walked – she had probably gone a little overboard on the drinks.

"Hermione, why don't you floo from my flat? I'm just a couple of blocks away and you've had too much to drink to be apparating," Draco said, offering Hermione his arm.

She shooed his arm away, teasing him and saying "You just want to get me to your flat, don't you? I bet this is how you get women to come over all the time."

"Hermione, if I wanted you to come over for something like that, I would be a little more obvious," Draco said, rolling his eyes, "I'm not exactly going to be pushing my luck. Now, if you would give me that arm, I could help you walk in a straighter path." And with that, he looped his arm through hers, and turned right into an apartment complex door.

He walked her up a flight of stairs, and Hermione was grateful for his arm because she probably would have fallen down them without it. They approached a non-descript gray door, and Draco stopped for a moment to dig in his pocket for his key. Hermione looked at his inquisitively – why didn't he use his wand? He noticed her look.

"I can't pull my wand out here. This is a muggle apartment complex, I'd have the ministry down my back for using magic in front of them." He found his key, and led her inside.

Wow, Malfoy in a muggle complex? That was an unexpected turn. Hermione looked around and was impressed. He really did have good taste. The apartment was spacious, and decorated well. It suited a man like Malfoy. Walking inside, the front door led to a kitchen and living room area that was decorated in greys and blues. The kitchen was modern looking, with all stainless steel appliances and what looked like a marble island and countertops. Hermione did a double take. He had muggle appliances? Not only did he live in a muggle apartment complex, but it looked like he lived like a muggle too. The whole situation perplexed Hermione.

She glanced over at Draco, and saw him looking her curiously.

"Something interest you Granger? You seem to be in awe," he said, a faint smile playing on his lips. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, I was just wondering why in the world you would not only live in a muggle complex, but you also own muggle appliances. It just doesn't seem like you." His face hardened at the comment.

"Well Granger, you don't really know me, do you now?" he spat at her. And with that, he walked down a hallway and she cringed as she heard a door slam. _Great,_ she thought,_ now I'm stranded in Malfoy's apartment and I just pissed him off. _ She turned around to leave when she heard the sounds of things being thrown against a wall.

She ran through his apartment until she found the door the noises were coming from. She went to turn the handle and found it locked. "God dammit Malfoy!" she yelled in frustration. She pulled her wand out of her sleeve and pointed it at the door handle. "_Alohomora!" She heard the lock pop, and turned the handle and ran into the room._

_She stopped dead at the sight she saw. On one side of the room, the remains of what looked like picture frames were shattered on the floor. Glass glittered the hardwood floor, making Hermione careful about how she stepped. Malfoy was crouched on the floor on the other side of the room, his head in his hands, sobs racking his body. Crouching down, Hermione looked at the pictures that had once inhabited the frames. Pictures of his family – his mom, dad, and even his aunt were in them. There were pictures of his friends too – old ones at Hogwarts where they were playing Quidditch, laying by the lake, or laughing in the common room. All of the pictures, Hermione noted, were happy ones. And they were clearly several years old. _

_Hermione approached Malfoy cautiously. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she quietly said his name. "Draco?" _

_He was still for a moment, but looked up at her, _vulnerability apparent in his eyes, which he tried to mask with hostility.

"What could you possibly want Granger? Couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? You just had to butt your nose in where it doesn't belong." Hermione swallowed, and forced her emotions down. She knew he was just angry, but it brought back memories of his taunts and bullying at Hogwarts.

Once again, she faced him, and using all of her Gryffindor bravery, looked at him in the eye, and said "Draco, I am here to help. I didn't mean to offend you by asking about your apartment, but it was just surprising. What can I do to help?"

He looked at her defiantly for a moment, and then broke down again. But instead of curling up inside himself this time, he clung to her. Hermione could feel his tears soaking her robes, to the point where she could feel her blouse underneath her robes getting wet. She could feel his hammering heart beat against her chest, and could smell his shampoo coming off of the pale white strands tickling her nose. She had never been more aware of Draco Malfoy, and it thrilled and terrified her the way her heart was racing with the proximity. Awkwardly, she put her arms around him as they sat on the floor, and let him empty his emotions until he was spent. When the last of his sobs faded away, he still laid against her. She heard his breathing even out, and looked down and saw he was sleeping. Carefully, she lifted him up, and leaned him against herself. Slowly, he walked over to his bed with her assistance. She laid him down, pulled off his shoes, and then socks, and the pulled the covers up over him. Just as she was turning to leave, she heard a whisper of her name.

"Hermionnee," he slurred through his sleepiness. She walked over to the side of the bed, and looked at him. His hair was mussed up, and he had the tell-tale puffy eyes that showed what had just traversed. He was looking at her with them now, his eyes unfocused and half open. It was evident he was half asleep. He lazily reached a hand up and touched her face, his knuckles grazing her cheekbone. "Hermione, you are so beautiful," he slurred, and then did something she did not expect. His fingers reached the back of her neck, and slowly pulled her down until their lips were touching. The kiss was short, sweet, and tasted like peppermint. Before she realized what was happening, it was over. Draco looked at her with almost closed eyes. "Hermionneee," he slurred one last time before letting his arm drop, and he fell completely asleep.

Looking at him with confusion, she touched a finger to her lips. They didn't feel any different, but she could feel the ghost of the kiss lingering there. She didn't know how to react, so she walked over the pictures. "Reparo," she whispered, and replaced them on the tall dresser that was next to his bed. Then she walked out of his bedroom, and into his living room. She found his floo powder, started a fire, and flooed home.


End file.
